Tuesday, September 30, 2008

MARTINEZ — Next to the candy jar on John Cullen's desk sits an equally important tumbler of Tums antacid pills.

"The Tums are just another condiment I offer to people," Contra Costa's county administrator said, smiling.

When you have worked the type of hours and tackled the scope of financial issues Cullen has in the past 30 months, the colorful tablets become a sixth food group.

By the end of the month, Cullen will relinquish the Tums and retire, ending a short but critical tenure in which he ushered the county through some historic financial obstacles.

"He served as a very important bridge moving us forward during a very challenging financial time," Supervisor John Gioia said. "Essentially his work with the board strengthened the county financially and put in place new policies and practices."

Cullen worked with supervisors to set policies on borrowing, managing reserves and balancing budgets. He also helped establish a payment plan to curb a spiraling unfunded liability for employee and retiree health care.

"The numbers aspect is part and parcel with the job. I'd rather see public services provided and a positive impact on people than doing the number crunching and budget planning," Cullen said in a recent interview.

Spoken like a true social worker.

The Fresno State graduate received a master's degree in social work, and worked his way to the top of Merced County's social-service system.

"Trying Advertisementto improve the ability to provide public services, not only to the most vulnerable, but all of the community, has been at the heart of my career goals," he said.

That has made it hard to watch social services in Contra Costa and other jurisdictions often become the first sector hit during budget cuts.

"It is one of the sad realities with federal and state reductions, often the most vulnerable populations are the ones who bear the brunt of many budget cuts," he said.

Cullen began his career working in Merced County's child-welfare program in 1974. He came to Contra Costa in August 1995 as social-services director.

"I consider myself a professional social worker to this day," Cullen said.

In March 2006, the supervisors selected Cullen to run the county, knowing he would retire at 58. The Pleasant Hill resident turned 58 on Tuesday.

Immediately, Cullen set out to accomplish four goals with the Contra Costa supervisors: fiscal health; efficient service delivery; team building and organizational development; and building credibility and public education.

"I think we made great progress in those areas," he said.

He established a mission, vision and values statement for the county. A framed poster with the mottoes adorns his office.

"It serves as a foundation for all of us in county government in how we provide public services," Cullen said. "Contra Costa government is an A-to-Z service provider, from airports to zoning and every letter in the alphabet in between."

In his short stead, Cullen led the board through some difficult decision-making, such as budget cuts and labor negotiations.

"You had a level of trust and confidence that John was not only acting on behalf of the board, but that he was doing the right thing. There were no politics at play," Piepho said.

One tough decision was deciding to tackle 40 percent of Contra Costa's $2.64 billion unfunded liability for retired and current employees.

"We must balance our requisite to provide competitive health care to our employees and retirees with our essential obligation to provide services," Cullen said. "We're now at the point where we're taking money from one to pay the other."

The job is not for the faint of heart, Cullen said.

"I do regularly wake up in the middle of the night and think of my job and try to solve problems," said Cullen, often seen talking or typing on his BlackBerry.

Since his hiring, Cullen has spent every Sunday morning working, except for Christmas 2006 at his sister's house and a family vacation to Hawaii.

"I always knew how I could reach John on Sunday morning — by calling his office," Gioia joked. "It was a good time to reach him uninterrupted."

"These are tough times and they demand a lot of time," Cullen said.

Joining him during his late hours in his office is his trusty electronic piggy bank, which clamors: "Give me more! Give me more!" and "Feed me! Feed me!" after a coin is dropped in.

And then there's the mysterious vulture stuffed animal perched atop his desk.

"I let people just speculate about it, honestly," he said, smiling.

Cullen isn't sure what he'll do after leaving his post. College professor? Working with foster youth?

"I've done a lot of work that I set out to do and I want to do something else," Cullen said. "What I want to do next? I'm not sure. I will take some time to separate from this job."

Gayle, his wife of 36 years, and his two adult children hope to travel with him.

His first post-retirement trip?

San Luis Obispo in October, when he introduces incoming County Administrator Dave Twa to cohorts from around the state.